


...of the rest of your life

by thankyouturtle



Series: Day in the Life [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU - Comicverse
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Community: au_bingo, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-24
Updated: 2010-09-24
Packaged: 2017-10-12 04:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/120658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thankyouturtle/pseuds/thankyouturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having detention on the first day of school isn't a great start to the year. Luckily, Steph's not the only one who does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	...of the rest of your life

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Other: High School" for au_bingo.

Detention wasn't exactly an amazing start to the school year. Especially at Steph's new school, where the others students were amazingly well-behaved, and the guy on her left had actually looked _shocked_ when she fell asleep in class. Well, more like when she woke up. It was probably safe to assume that he didn't actually look shocked the entire twenty minutes she was out.

  


It wasn't entirely her fault that she was asleep, either. French verbs weren't interesting, and anyway, she was way behind the rest of the class there. At her old school they took Spanish, and having a father in jail and a mother who popped pills wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Here, the fathers were lawyers and the mothers donated their money (but not their time) to people _helping_ addicts. It was like some kind of bizarro world.

  


Even detention was bizarro. There was no teacher present when she tentatively opened the classroom door, just an older girl, scowling intensely at her laptop screen. "Um," Steph said. "Is this detention...?" The girl looked up, still scowling, and gave Steph a piercing look that was probably supposed to put Steph in her place. Steph gave her a winning smile. "I'm new," she offered helpfully. The girl continued scowling, and after a moment Steph realised she wasn't scowling at her at all, but somewhere behind her. She carefully shuffled to the right and turned around to see a _seriously hot_ guy behind her, the recipient of that menacing scowl.

  


"Babs, I said I was sorry-" he started, but the girl cut him off.

  


"Sorry isn't even nearly going to cut it," Babs said. 'Insanely angry' didn't even nearly begin to describe _her_. It was the red hair, Steph decided. Red-heads always had terrible tempers. "What did you think was going to happen, dick? You were going to come up and say, 'Hey Babs, I'm seeing Kory now,' and I'd say, 'That's great, sweetheart, why don't we have a threesome some time?'"

  


"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you," the guy's cheeks were starting to go red. "We broke up months ago, and you said you wanted to be friends still, but you're obviously not over me-" He was still standing in the doorway, which meant when another boy came up behind him, he had to slide in sideways through the door. He was - well, OK, he was also pretty hot. His eyes swept the room, taking in the guy, the angry Babs, and Steph, who was standing awkwardly, bag slung over one shoulder, still trying to work out if she was in the right room. He grinned broadly at her.

  


"Fresh blood!" he said cheerfully. He was sporting a black eye. "I love it when we have visitors. Take a seat, gorgeous, and take in today's episode of the Dick and Babs Show. Previously, Babs turned down the advances of Ted, the sweet but naive computer dork, in order to spare Dick's feelings, only to find out that Dick himself had started a new relationship."

  


  


"I didn't know that private schoolers got into fights," Steph said, before she could stop herself.

  


  


"Oh, they're always like this. Or are you talking about this?" He gestured to his eye, and Steph tried not to wince. It was purple and swollen and just generally sore-looking, but he seemed nonchalant about it. "I was protecting a damsel in distress. All in a day's work for Jay Wayne, m'Lady."

  


  


He pulled a chair out from the nearest desk and gives her an elaborate bow. Steph had to admit, it was oddly charming, and she smiled back at him as she sat. "So, you come here often?" she asked.

  


  


"Oh, sure. This is practically my homeroom. It's not like I _like_ getting into fights, but someone has to keep an eye on my big bro over there, you know? And it's not like they let just _anyone_ into detention."

  


  


"If you don't like getting into fights, why do I have to keep hitting you?" The speaker is a slim girl that Steph actually recognised. They were partnered up in Chemistry yesterday. And the boy next to her - he was the one from French class. Surely _he_ couldn't have a detention.

  


  


"Cassandra!" Jay cried. "My favourite sister! My only sister, actually. Which technically makes you my least favourite sister, too."

  


  


Cassandra gave him a look which wasn't a glare but more like reluctant amusement, and slid into the desk next to Steph. "Stephanie?" she asked tentatively.

  
"Steph," Steph corrected her, and Cassandra smiled.

"Cass," she returned.

French-class-boy took the seat in front of her, then turned to face her with a serious look on his face. "I'm so, so sorry. It's my fault that Dupont caught you napping. Um - detentions don't go on your permanent record, so you won't lose your scholarship, or anything."

That was something that Steph hadn't even had time to consider. "How did you know I'm here on a schol?"

"Tim knows everything." Jay threw his arms around Cass, in an embrace that looks half-hug-half-strangulation. "He's the family genius. Although if you don't mind me saying, New Kid, the whole school knows you're the scholarship girl. You're jaunty. Public schoolers are always jaunty."

"Are you really all related?" Steph didn't think she had been jaunty today. More like, so nervous she could wet herself. "Only-"

"Adopted," Cass said, elbowing Jay in the stomach as she does so. He backed off hurriedly.

"This isn't really much of a detention," Tim said. He doesn't seem quite capable of meeting Steph's eyes. "They used to make kids pick up rubbish, or take gum off desks, that sort of thing. But given that Jason had 43 consecutive days of detention last year I think they've just given up."

"Well, they're not going to expel me, not with Dad being who he is." _That_ sounded more like a rich kid speaking."What are you doing here anyway, little bro?"

"Since everyone else was already here, I thought I might as well join you." Tim's mouth quirked into an almost-smile. "Save Alfred two trips. And if you shut up for more than three seconds, I might actually have a chance to get some work done."

Jay took the hint, and actually seated himself at a table, pulling out pen and paper. Steph guessed that that was it; they were meant to stay here and study for a couple of hours and then go home. Still in bizarro world, then. Still, she was more likely to get work done here than she was at home. She pulled out her Math book and started working through it, and actually made a fair amount of progress before Cass tapped her lightly on the shoulder and said, "Wrong theorem." God _damn_ it. But Cass showed her what she was actually meant to be doing, and by the time the clock on the wall had ticked its way to 5.30 Steph had finished almost all of her homework.

"Have you got a ride home?" It was Tim that asked, surprising Steph.

"Yeah, I guess. I was going to take a bus..."

"But you don't live close, do you? If you catch a bus it'll be dark by the time you get home. We'll give you a lift."

They had a freaking _limo_. With a _driver_. Steph stared at it in shock until Cass tugged lightly at her arm. "You could come home with us for dinner, if you like," she offered. Steph thought of the fridge at home, which was almost definitely empty, and was tempted, but she shook her head instead.

"It's my turn to cook," she explained, and didn't add that it was almost always her turn to cook, and that that was going to be impossible unless she also did some shopping. Was there enough money left on her credit card for a week's worth of groceries? Unlikely. And was it just her or were Babs and Dick totally making out? Jay caught her eye and grinned again, then strode over to the limo and opened the door with a flourish. "Ladies first." Cass punched his stomach as she passed him.

"So do you think you're going to like it here?" When Dick and Babs had finished swapping saliva and had said goodbye, and everyone except the older girl were packed into the limo, and Steph had given her address to the driver, who to her eternal gratefulness did not bat an eyelid when she told him what street she lived in, Tim asked the inevitable question.

"I guess. It's pretty different from Gotham High..."

"Tell me about it." That's Jay, who insisted on sitting next to her, his leg brushing against hers no matter ho many times she shift further over. "Is that creepster Mr Beggs still there?"

"You guys went to Gotham High?" Steph asks, surprised.

" _I_ did. For a while. It didn't really work out."

"He tried to burn down one of the computer labs," Cass put in, in her soft voice.

"That was before I met Dad," Jay continued, unabashed.

"Stealing his tyres."

"So anyway, I know what it's like to be going private for the first time, if you've got any questions-"

"Come to me," Dick said firmly. Steph glanced at Jay, expecting him to argue, but he didn't. There was clearly more to the older boy than what met the eye. Under no circumstances would Steph refer to him as The Transformer until she found out whether he has a sense of humour. "Or Babs. We're both on the Student Council - it's our job to help out new students."

"Or me," Cass put in. She gave Steph a small smile. "We're already in class together."

"You could sit with us at lunch tomorrow," Tim put in. "Our friends are really nice."

"So basically you're saying that everyone in this family is available for comment except me." Jay sounded put out, but when he caught Steph's eye he winked at her.

She found herself laughing. Not to intentionally echo the little orphan Annie or anything, but she was starting to suspect she was going to like it here.


End file.
